The Best Deceptions
by kitty-kat12
Summary: Brooke told Lucas there was no baby and she walked away from him and Tree Hill satisfied with her lie. Four years later, she is forced to go back to the place she vowed never to return to and face the people she thought no longer held a piece of her.
1. The Davis Curse

**Title:** The Best Deceptions

**By: **Kat

**Chapter Title:** The Davis Curse

**Rating:** PG 13

**Pairings:** Lucas/Brooke, Nathan/Haley, Peyton/Jake and then some.

**Timeline: **Set four years after _How Can You Be Sure? _

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing of One Tree Hill.

**Author's Notes: **My first One Tree Hill fic. Brooke really was pregnant, she and Peyton sort of made up, Nicki stayed and caused more trouble, and Haley and Nathan never got married.

**Summary: **_Brooke told_ _Lucas there was no baby and she walked away from him and everything in Tree Hill, satisfied with her lie._ It was acted out of spite, fueled the raw hurt and anger of being betrayed by the people she cared about. But Brooke Davis, then 16, didn't care. She wanted to leave Tree Hill and most of all, she wanted to hurt Lucas Scott. Now, over four years later, she is forced to go back to the place she vowed never to return to and face the people she thought no longer held a piece of her.

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There is a curse on the Davis name and Brooke Davis knows it well. She is the most recent generation to carry it and possibly not the last. It had consumed her family for years, tearing at them, testing and breaking them in every possible way.

_No one will truly love a __Davis._

_That_ was their curse and although she never admitted it, Brooke knew it was true. She was an offspring of several generations' worth of lies and deceit, unrequited and lost love. Her grandparents never loved each other and yet they stayed together. Their fifty years of marriage could be summed up as _hollow_, with the backdrop of World War II making it more romantic than it actually was.

Three children were born and bred only to repeat the cycle of empty marriages, wrong choices, passion and lust but never love. Never, ever love. There was always the absence of _that_.

Brooke saw and lived their unhappiness and when she was thirteen, she vowed to break it. Three years later, with her heart suddenly wrapped around the enigma that was Lucas Scott, Brooke thought she had broken the curse. _She was loved._ But just as she was on the verge of perfect happiness, Lucas cheated on her with her Peyton and the damnation that was her legacy lingered, strengthening itself as her unborn baby grew inside her.

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**Orange County, ****California**

**December 2008**

The shrill ringing of the school bell interrupted Brooke's melodramatic inner ramblings and she was brought back to the reality that was now her life. Hundreds of children poured out of the enormous building and after craning her neck, she finally found who she was looking for.

Her four year old son was currently hugging a shy red-haired classmate, an unashamed smile on his rather innocent baby face. The teacher who monitored the child pick ups, spotted Brooke and waved. Mrs. Landry always talked animatedly about Brooke's sons' adventures at school.

"My son, the flirt." Brooke murmured with an amused shake of her head. He was definitely hers through and through.

Cole Daniel Davis, lady killer and flirt extraordinaire at the tender age of four, spotted his mother and made a beeline towards her. "Hey, babe." He greeted her toothily, using one of Brooke's favorite words.

Brooke arched an eyebrow, squatted to his level and pulled Cole into a fierce hug. "Hey back and that's _Mom_ to you, mister." She replied, grinning.

"Okay, Mommy." Cole flashed her one of the smiles that reminded her of the other half the little boy came from and her grin faltered just a little.

Brooke shook the feeling away as the familiar ache in her chest returned. _No, Brooke. Lucas Scott is history. You have filed him into that category, put him into filing cabinet, locked it and threw the key away. Cole is **your** son. Not his. Never his. _She inwardly scolded as she and Cole hopped into their car and drove home.

The fifteen minute drive was filled with her son animatedly talking about school and girls and Christmas vacation. Sometimes, when Cole talked about girls, he reminded her of his Uncle Nathan before the Haley-days. Before cheating boyfriends and backstabbing best friends.

Brooke sighed heavily as she parked in the driveway and helped Cole out of his seat. "Don't be sad, Mama Bear." Cole said in the softest and possibly sincerest voice a child his age could muster. She was Mama Bear from _The Bearington Bears_ and from the expression on Cole's face, Brooke saw Lucas all over again.

She felt like crying but instead she hugged her son and carried him out of the car, holding his Spider-man backpack with one hand. "Mommy's not sad, Cole." Brooke corrected, her voice giving away no sign of the contrary. "Christmas just makes Mommy all emotional." Once they reached the foyer, she set him down on the ground, making a mental note that Cole was getting too big to be carried.

A wail erupted from the second floor and Cole climbed the stairs rapidly, Brooke right behind him. "Ben's being broody." The little boy declared as he crawled to his younger brother. "Ben missed Mommy."

Brooke flopped on the bed, nodded at the nanny and declared that she'll take it from here. "Hi, baby." Brooke whispered softly as she drew her youngest son close to her, rocking him gently.

Born two years and three months younger than Cole, Ben was the resident brooder. He was quiet and tender, moody at times where Cole was loud and seemingly always on a sugar high. But they were brothers through and through, both dark haired and blue-eyed and the sons of men who did not love their mother. At least, Brooke thought so.

_They are not cursed. They are not cursed. _Brooke chanted inwardly. _It will end with me. I will be unhappy forever as long as my boys will be loved. _She knew it was stupid to believe in a curse made up by her grandmother. No one had put anything upon them. The Davis family members just made wrong choices. A lot. And Brooke proved that _twice_.

But she wasn't sorry.

Sighing, she scooted off the bed with Ben still in her arms. He was slowly dozing off and he would want to be rocked for at least another fifteen minutes. He was two and Brooke was still rocking him to sleep.

"Come on, Cole. Let's get you a snack." Brooke declared, ushering Cole out of the room. "And then we can decorate the tree." The phone rang just as they reached the main floor.

Talia, their live in nanny and occasional cook, answered. "Nathan Scott is on the phone." She declared and Brooke ushered Cole to the older woman.

"Nanny will make you a snack while I talk to Uncle Nathan." Brooke declared to Cole as she walked over to the office room and brought the receiver to her ear while still cradling Ben. "Hello? Nathan, you still there?"

"I'm here." He sounded tired, worn out. "You have to come home."

Brooke frowned as she settled on the chair. "No way, Nathan." _I **promised** never to go back. _

"Peyton got into an accident, Brooke, and-"

"Accident?" Brooke practically shrieked, her chest tightening with fear. "What accident? Is she okay?"

"There was an accident over…her car got pushed over a bridge, Brooke, and-"

"Is Peyton okay?" Brooke repeated shrilly, growing frantic.

Nathan Scott sighed sharply, his impatience seeping through. "Will you please let me get a sentence through?" When Brooke remained silent, Nathan continued. "Peyton's in the hospital but your parents…I'm sorry, Brooke."

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What about my parents?" She demanded. "They're in Monte Carlo, I think."

"No, they're not." He pressed. "I don't like telling you this over the phone but they were in the accident too."

"They're dead." Brooke whispered bleakly, finally understanding. Nathan's silence spoke volumes and Brooke felt a twinge of guilt creep up on her. Her parents had probably died a horrible death and she hadn't felt it. Her day had gone like any other and she hadn't _sensed_ that the people who brought her into this world were no longer there. "I'll be on the next flight to Tree Hill."

"Are you going to bring the boys?" Nathan asked, Peyton and Brooke's parents suddenly forgotten.

Brooke bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, I am. I'm not leaving them here. It's Christmas and I'm all they got."

There was a long palpable silence on the other side until Nathan finally replied. "I figured you would." He stated softly. "I'm going to tell Haley tonight."

"No, you can't!" She exclaimed and Ben fussed, startled that she had raised her voice. "We had a _deal_, Nathan Scott!"

"You're coming home, Brooke, and I don't want Haley blindsided. I want her to hear it from me. I'll try to keep her from saying anything to Lucas but I'm not making any promises."

Brooke Davis groaned in frustration, feeling the beginnings of a severe headache. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone. I'm going to finalize the arrangements for the funeral and leave as quickly as possible."

"And you'll what? Hide the boys until you leave?" Nathan demanded, scoffing indignantly. "Tree Hill isn't that big a town. People will figure it out. _Lucas_ will figure it out. No more lies, Brooke. It's over."

_Lucas_. The name echoed in Brooke's ear like a scream.

_It's not over! _Brooke wanted to scream. _It can not be over._

"You can't do this to this to me!" She angrily hissed. "I can't believe that _you_ would screw me over just like Lucas."

"I am not screwing you over!" Nathan retorted fiercely, getting annoyed. He wanted to defend his brother but Nathan was just too tired and he simply did not want to go over this with the stubborn Brooke Davis again. "I am helping you and I am helping myself. I am tired, Brooke, of covering for you and lying to Haley. Peyton just woke up. I have to go. Call me so I know when to pick you up."

"But-" Brooke began to argue but Nathan had already hung up on her. Groaning, she slammed the phone back down and shifted Ben in her aching arms. "I can't believe that my life is falling apart again."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I know it's pretty unrealistic for Brooke to get pregnant _twice, _live in Orange County and have a nanny for her kids. But there's a reason for that, which you will find out in the following chapter(s). This is my first One Tree Hill fic so be kind.

Please review!


	2. When History Repeats Itself

**Title:** The Best Deceptions

**By: **Kat

**Chapter Title:** When History Repeats Itself

**Rating:** PG 13

**Pairings:** Lucas/Brooke, Nathan/Haley, Peyton/Jake and then some.

**Timeline: **Set four years after _How Can You Be Sure? _

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing of One Tree Hill.

**Author's Notes: **I have never been to North Carolina but I am going to assume it snows there. ****

**Chapter Summary: **Brooke is home and still fighting her fears, Nathan feels like his world is in ruins and Lucas is still clueless.

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**Tree Hill, ****North Carolina******

**Two Days Later**

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There was a pained, slightly terrified look on Nathan's face when he picked Brooke and the boys up at the airport. Brooke immediately recognized it as the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that had stayed ever since Nathan called her.

_I'm just better at hiding my feelings. _Brooke noted as she and Nathan shared a hug in the crowded baggage claim area. "What is it?" She immediately asked; her voice hoarse and tired.

"Everything's falling apart." Nathan mumbled darkly as Ben outstretched his arms, indicating that he wanted to be held by the older man. Nathan casually pulled him out of Brooke's hold before fondly tousling Cole's dark hair.

The little boy grinned at him and hugged his leg.

Her mind immediately went to Lucas but Brooke stopped herself. "Is it Peyton? Is she-?"

"No. It's _everything_, Brooke." He replied, angry. "Let's get your bags."

Brooke merely nodded and over half an hour later, her suitcases where in the trunk, the boys were buckled in the back of Nathan's car and they were driving deeper into Tree Hill.

"I'm thinking we'll be here for at least four days if everything goes according to plan, a week at the most." Brooke finally broke the uneasily silence as they entered their old, still well-to-do neighborhood. "I just want to get everything over with and go back to my life." She looked strained, edgy from the thought of having to face Lucas and everyone in Tree Hill again.

_What life? _Nathan wanted to challenge her. _You're alone in your empty house and you pretend that revolving your life around the boys will keep you happy forever._

"I'm sorry about your parents." Nathan said, his eyes on the road.

Brooke nodded, continuing. "Yeah, me too." _I didn't know them. They were never there. _"What happened, Nate? What happened after you told Haley?"

He shrugged; his shoulders tense, his forehead set on a scowl. "I didn't tell her."

Brooke looked momentarily relieved. "Oh. Thanks."

"It wasn't about you, Brooke." He suddenly snapped. "Not everything is about _you_, you know."

His voice was harsh and Brooke frowned slightly but did not argue with him. She was finally accustomed to his moodiness, after years of knowing him, and she usually appreciated Nathan's bluntness.

"Okay, something _must_ have happened."

Nathan sighed, shaking his head in dismay. "I was going to tell her but Haley kept cutting me off. She said might be pregnant. Seven tests said yes but she wants a doctor's confirmation." He declared. "She was _so_ happy and I couldn't hurt her. I couldn't do that to her."

Brooke blinked, stunned. "If you want, I won't say anything." She whispered hesitantly, glancing at Ben who was sleeping.

He scoffed at her bitterly. "It doesn't matter what _I_ want. If I don't tell Haley, she'll figure the truth out later and she'll _never_ forgive me. But if I tell her now, there's a good chance she'll pull a _Brooke Davis_."

"Ouch." Brooke flinched.

"Sorry." He said ruefully. "I just…I can't lose Haley. But I don't want to be my father. Deny one son and love the other, if you could call how he acted towards me as love."

Brooke nodded, remembering a conversation between her and Nathan two years ago. "_I don't want you to make any promises. In fact, I don't expect you to do anything." She had said. "But if you treat **my **son like your father treated your brother, you know I will kill you, right?" _

_Nathan just smiled wistfully and asked if he could hold Ben._

Brooke bit her bottom lip, snapping out of the memory. "Haley loves you. She will understand." She drawled quietly.

"Yeah, you love Lucas. Look at you now." He was bitter again, probably even angry with Brooke for all the wrong choices that she made. In a way, they were exactly alike and if Brooke could not be saved, then Nathan was hopeless.

"_Loved_." Brooke corrected, bristling at the mention of Lucas's name. "And we're _not_ talking about me."

Nathan shot her a dubious look but did not press on. "Haley used to joke about it, you know. She said, _'if you have a child out there, you better tell me now_.' It wasn't funny."

"No." Brooke murmured.

"Peyton woke up again today and asked if you were coming." Nathan quickly changed the subject, noticing that the tension in the car had gotten so thick if was almost suffocating. "I told her you were."

Brooke nodded silently as they turned into the Davis's driveway. "And I will before I leave Tree Hill."

"No, Brooke, you're going to see her _today_." Nathan insisted as they stepped out of the car and began unbuckling the boys.

She scowled at him stubbornly. "No. I have funeral arrangements to take care of, Nathan, and who's going to watch Cole and Ben?" She argued.

"I'm going to watch them while you do what you have to but we're dropping them off with my Mom later. You can see Peyton and I can try to somehow save my relationship with Haley." Nathan declared as they entered the Davis house.

Brooke looked slightly startled. "Your _mom_?" She echoed, feeling slightly panicked. If Deb knew, then she would have told Karen. And Karen Roe would surely not keep this kind of information from Lucas. Brooke suddenly felt like vomiting. "She knows? How long has she known?"

_Oh, God. This was not how it was supposed to be. _

"After Haley told me about the pregnancy, I told my Mom _everything_. I didn't know who else to turn to. She's not going to say anything to Karen or Lucas because that's your responsibility."

Brooke nodded silently, willing herself to calm down. "I'm not ready, Nate. I don't think I can face Lucas just yet and tell him the whole truth but-"

"Stop being selfish!" Nathan hissed.

Her eyes darkened as she continued. "_But_ you should go and tell Haley and if Lucas finds out, then I'll just have to deal. I'm not happy to be here and I sure as hell am not happy about having to face Lucas after _everything _but I guess I don't really have a choice, huh?"

"No, you don't." Nathan replied tightly. "We have to stop being cowards, Brooke."

"Yeah."

* * *

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**Tree ****Hill ****Hospital******

Brooke stood by the doorway of Peyton's room, taken aback by her best friend's condition. Peyton Sawyer looked small and fragile as she lied motionless on the bed, swathed in bandages and engulfed by a sea of pillows and blankets.

Jake Jagielski sat on the chair beside Peyton, his head resting on the bed. Silently, Brooke walked over to the other side and pulled a chair up. Jake's head jerked up and he looked at her with startled, bleary eyes.

"Sorry."

"Brooke." He said. "You're here. I didn't know you were coming."

Brooke nodded, sitting down. "Neither did I. How is she?"

"The doctors have kept her heavily sedated." Jake quickly replied with a sad look in his eyes.

"But is she okay?" Brooke insisted, frowning.

He shook his head, a loud sigh escaping his lips. "No, she's not okay. They don't know if Peyton's going to walk again." Hot unshed tears stung Brooke's eyes as she listened to him in disbelief. _How could Nathan not tell me this? _"We're hoping for the best-"

"And she will have the best." She quickly declared. _Even if I have to drag her ass to __Switzerland__ and wherever else to get her the best doctors._ "Peyton doesn't give anything less."

Jake smiled and rose from his seat. "I'm going to call Jenny and get some coffee from the cafeteria. Do you want anything?"

Brooke shook her head and Jake left, leaving her with Peyton.

"Hey, best friend." She began; her voice soft, low and full of sadness. Past mistakes were suddenly forgotten. "The boy-toy has gotten seriously hotter. I should have nabbed the young daddy in high school." Brooke laughed, brushing a limp strand of curly blonde hair away from Peyton's face. "So, I was thinking, the minute you're strong enough, I'm taking you out of Tree Hill and we're going to California. There's the sun, the beach and Jake forever shirtless. I don't think you would pass that up. And his baby girl, Jenny, could come too. You guys could stay at the house and make out like teenagers again. The boys would love that-not the making out but you guys being there-especially Cole. You remember him? He's four now and has more girlfriends than he can count-"

Peyton's eyelids fluttered open and she stared at Brooke groggily. "Hey, bitch." She mumbled, chuckling. "About time you got here."

"Hey, yourself." Brooke grinned happily. "Jake's in the cafeteria. Want some water?" Peyton nodded and Brooke immediately filled a cup and helped Peyton drink it.

"Are you okay, Brooke?" Peyton asked, seeing through the happy pretense.

Brooke rolled her eyes playfully, not in the mood to talk about her problems. "Brooke's fine. Worry about yourself, babe."

"You're referring to yourself in the third person. Obviously not fine." Peyton insisted tiredly. "I'm sorry about your parents. I saw them before I fell-"

"Peyton, it's okay." Brooke quickly cut her off, suddenly very exhausted. Brooke watched as Peyton blinked back hot tears, the fear from the accident still raw. "Try to rest."

"The painkillers are beginning to wear off so I'll be resting later. Have you talked to Luke?"

"No." Brooke whispered, her chest tightening with fear at the mention of Lucas's name. "Do you need anything? Shouldn't a doctor be checking you? Where's the nurse?"

"Brooke, are you going to talk to Lucas?" Peyton persisted.

Brooke shrugged indecisively. "No. _Maybe_. If I really have to, I will."

"Aren't you going to tell him about Cole? Aren't you going to let Lucas see him?"

Brooke suddenly became defensive, anger ebbing inside of her. "Why? Never mind, Peyton. You have to rest."

Peyton sighed. "Cole is his son."

Brooke shrugged again, her lips pressed tightly together and an annoyed look had settle on her face. "I'm not denying that but I'm not here for Lucas. I came because I was worried about you and because of my parents."

"You can't avoid him. When he hears about you being home, he won't just let you walk away again and he-"

"I think Lucas will be a little distracted." Brooke interrupted sharply, her eyes glued to the hallway. Lucas was walking straight to them, a leggy curly-haired brunette draped on his arm. Her jaw immediately tightened and hot unshed tears prickled in the corner of her eyes. "I…I have to go. I can't be here, Peyt."

Peyton suddenly looked just as frantic as Brooke felt. "Don't go. She's not-"

"No, I can't stay." Brooke sighed sharply, hastily gathering her things. _Don't cry. Don't you dare cry. You're not hurt because he doesn't mean anything. _Brooke silently yelled at herself as she gave Peyton a hasty kiss on the cheek before bolting out of the room.

But Lucas has seen her and he stopped dead in his tracks for a few seconds before he regained his senses and chased after Brooke.

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**Author's Notes: **Nathan is Ben's father, obviously. And Lucas has a girlfriend. But there is a reason for my madness.

Please review!


	3. That Familiar Hollow Feeling

**Title:** The Best Deceptions

**By: **Kat

**Chapter Title:** That Familiar Hollow Feeling

**Rating:** PG 13

**Pairings:** Lucas/Brooke, Nathan/Haley, Peyton/Jake and then some.

**Timeline: **Set four years after _How Can You Be Sure? _

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing of One Tree Hill.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for all the reviews. If everything was _peachy_-_fine_ and everyone was all _lovey_, then I would have nothing to write about and One Tree Hill wouldn't be what it is. And this would be fluff instead of angst. I promise a good ending but first, I got to make the characters jump rings of fire.

_Duckygirl_, Cole and Ben are half brothers but they are also cousins.

_Starryskyangel1, _you were probably asking a rhetorical question but Nathan is Ben's father because if it was another man, the effect it has on Lucas and everyone else won't be as big.

_Lorelai, _although I love Nathan's character, I had to admit that he _is_ harsh. He is a jerk and his has his cruel side. That's why there's Haley. He and Brooke have an understanding. ****

**Chapter Summary: **Lucas hears a different version of the truth and comes to a wrong conclusion, Haley is just as lost and confused and Brooke reflects on her mistakes.

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**Tree ****Hill ****Hospital******

Lucas felt his heart lodge itself in his throat the minute he saw Brooke walk out of Peyton's hospital room. His girlfriend beside him was suddenly forgotten, the hall silenced itself and all Lucas could see was Brooke Davis. He did not realize that he had stopped walking, talking and for a few seconds, breathing until Brooke was gone and he was staring at an empty hallway.

Without a second thought Lucas untangled his arm from his now confused girlfriend and ran.

"Brooke!" He yelled after her and Brooke stopped dead in her tracks just as she was about to reach the doors.

Her head whipped towards his direction and she looked at him with anger and panic in her eyes. "Brooke." He repeated more softly this time, taking several steps towards her.

Brooke, stubborn and proud, stood her ground, refusing to show Lucas how much his presence affected her. Her hands shook slightly and she balled them into tight fists and continued to look Lucas levelly, ignoring the deafening pounding of her heart.

"Lucas." Her voice sounded shaky and Brooke inwardly cursed.

_Don't fall apart, Brooke. _She yelled. _Don't dare fall apart! You're not sixteen anymore. He doesn't mean anything._

The surprised expression on Lucas's face now gone as he took a few more steps until they were almost standing toe to toe. Still, Brooke refused to move. "Where have you been?" He demanded immediately with a slight hint of accusation in his voice.

He was suddenly very irritated at her and at himself for reasons Lucas wasn't quite sure of.

_Maybe because she left you. _A voice in him taunted, which wasn't altogether true. _He _was the one who broke up with her. _He_ was the one who left Tree Hill first. Right? _Maybe because it's been four years and every time you see someone vaguely like her, you think it's Brooke. You wonder if she's okay or if she's forgiven you for the big mistake you made when you were sixteen. _

"Away." Brooke shrugged, defiant.

He frowned at her refusal to let him know where she was now. "Where?" He insisted. "I looked-" The shrill ringing of his cell phone cut him off and Lucas groaned. Brooke sighed in relief, her eyes darting between Lucas and the automatic doorway. "Hello?"

Haley's voice startled him. She was yelling, frantic and incomprehensible.

"Oh, no." Brooke gasped, realizing that it was all over. Nathan had told Haley everything and Lucas was just about to find out. Panic and fear suddenly consumed her and her chest hurt again from the wild beating of her heart while tears burned the back of her yes.

She hadn't realized everything would fall apart so quickly. She had hoped that the worse side of Nathan would take over and he would back out like the coward he said he and Brooke were.

_But Nathan's no coward. _Brooke thought bitterly as she took one last look at a distracted Lucas before darting into the parking lot. She had to pick up the boys and figure out what to do.

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**Roe Residence**

When Lucas met with Haley, she was sitting outside of his house, shivering from the cold and crying uncontrollably despite her attempts to calm down.

"Haley, geez, are you okay?" He asked; rushing towards her. "What happened?" She flung herself at Lucas, hugging him tightly as she sobbed harder into his cold jacket. He ushered her into the house and sat her down. "Hales? Is it the baby? Did you-?"

"No. The baby is fine." She said, her heart wrenching at the thought of Nathan's baby. _His second child. _"Everything is falling apart, Luke." She confessed, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks.

She looked hurt and broken and blotchy, and Lucas suddenly pictured a six year old Haley crying because a boy had hugged her after school and labeled her his girlfriend in front of the whole grade. Haley had sucker-punched the boy and went home bawling.

Despite the funny memory invading Lucas's mind, his expression darkened. "It's Nathan, isn't it?" She nodded weakly, sniffling. Lucas automatically grabbed the Kleenex box and handed it to Haley. "What did he do?"

"He's a liar and a cheater and I hate myself for not seeing through him!" She groaned. "I hate him…and Brooke-" Haley immediately stopped; her eyes wide and hesitant as she remembered the torch that Lucas still held for his _deceiving, conniving ex-girlfriend_.

Lucas's frown deepened as an uneasy feeling washed over him. "What about Brooke? Hales, come on."

Haley looked away, biting her lip. "Nathan…he and Brooke…they-"

"They what?" Lucas snapped anxiously. "Haley, enough with the suspense. Tell me." When she remained silent and continued to look hurt and ashamed and betrayed, Lucas suddenly knew. "Oh. He's known all along where she was, hasn't he?"

Haley sniffled loudly. "Yeah. There's more."

"More?"

"They have a child together, Luke." Haley whispered brokenly, lowering her head as she sniffled again. Lucas's eyes widened in shock as he shook his head in disbelief. "It's true, Luke, they have a son together. He's two."

_A son. Brooke and Nathan have a son **together**. _Lucas was suddenly reeling from the plethora of information. Anger, hurt and betrayal and rage filled his blood until the room felt like it was spinning. The thought of Brooke and Nathan together made him physically ill. "He and Brooke have been together for two years?"

"No. He said it happened after I broke up with him and he went away. Then Brooke got pregnant and he just-"

"Just what?" Lucas demanded, enraged. _He looked me in the eyes and said he understood. He sympathized all the while, he lied to me. He accepted me as his brother and turned around and stabbed me in the back._

"He kept going back for the birthdays. All those trips Nathan took and I didn't have a _clue_."

Lucas gritted his teeth. "Nathan is a good liar, isn't he? He had us all fooled." _I'm going to kill him for lying to Haley, for being just like **Dan** and for betraying me while pretending to be my friend. My **brother**._

"He said he would have told me but Brooke didn't want to be found." Luke flinched at Haley's words but she continued. "And he didn't want to hurt me."

"He didn't want to _hurt_ you? What a crock, Haley, because _this_…what he's doing to you _isn't_ hurting you? He lied for two years, Haley! Probably more! Who the hell knows? He lied and he looked you in the face and told you he loved you! He deceived you and he deceived me! Everyone! He made us believe he was _good_ and _changed_ but the minute we turned our backs, he…_they_ probably laughed at our expense. They used us and toyed with us-"

Haley swallowed. "It's not-"

"It is, Haley! Get this in your head: Nathan is a liar and Brooke is no better than he is. He lived two lives, Hales. One with you and another with _her_."

Lucas suddenly despised Brooke Davis.

"Why is this happening?" She asked, desperation and uncertainty tingeing her words. "Why are they hurting us like this?"

Lucas pulled her into his arms. "I don't know but they're not going to get away with this."

"Luke, don't do anything irrational." Haley pleaded as she pulled away from his embrace and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Lucas nodded, his expression dark. "I'll just give them what they're due. You have to rest now, Hales. Stress isn't good for the baby."

Haley nodded miserably. "Yeah."

* * *

**Davis**** Residence**

Brooke laid restless on her bed, her little boys sleeping quietly by her side. They were exhausted from playing over at Deb and Dan's, who had stayed together and were surprisingly quite happy after Dan's first heart attack. The boys had officially labeled them _Grammy_ and Grandpa, and Dan Scott, despite being still a grouch and a jerk, was quite shocked _and_ flattered that Brooke had named Cole after him.

_"That's because I'm trying to change what you did. What I did. My boys, even though they don't share the same father, will love each other." _Brooke had said. "_They will **never** know the kind of treatment that you gave to Lucas and to Nathan."_

Her mind immediately drifted to Lucas and Nathan and herself and the mess that was their lives.

She sighed sharply, the side of her head throbbing from the stress.

Brooke knew that she was the epitome of their parents' mistakes, namely Dan, Karen and Deb.

She was _Karen_ because she made the mistake of trusting Lucas, of thinking that he would be there and he would love her. He wasn't and he didn't. Now, she was a single mother, all alone and lonely and still haunted by the memories of the past in the form of a son. But Brooke knew that she cheated on that a little because instead of working hard and earning everything on _her_ _own _like Karen had done, Brooke lived off of her inheritance from her grandmother and lived in a fancy house.

Davis family members, no matter how cruel, unfeeling and unkind to each other, _do not_ let other Davises rot like rats in sewers. _That_ was the rule and like with _almost_ everything else in her life, Brooke got away with being pregnant.

And then, when she was on the verge of convincing herself that she was happy with the life she led and that Tree Hill and the _boy-who-shall-not-be-named_ would stay in her past forever, Brooke ran into Nathan. And she saw that like herself, he was running from Tree Hill too, running from Haley who had broken his heart.

They had found common ground. And they wallowed in their misery, laced it with champagne and tears and sex. Like _Deb Scott_, she _cheated_ on the boy she loved with his brother.

And then like _Dan Scott_, master and genius of all colossal mistakes, Brooke pleaded and cried and argued with Nathan when he told her he was going to tell Haley and Lucas the truth after their baby was born. He had kept her secret the first time but he was not going to keep this one.

So, Brooke used his greatest fear against him. _Haley_.

_"She is not going to understand that what happened between us a few months ago was just…comfort." _Brooke declared vehemently in a fit of anger and desperation. Brooke did not want to be found. _"Haley will see it as betrayal. You betrayed her and you betrayed Lucas. And the knowledge of this baby will hang around her neck like a noose and she will **never** get over it. Everything that you're trying to keep will be gone and you'll lose her again, Nathan, but this time it's forever. Why ruin everyone's life? I will raise this baby like I have Cole and no one will know. Lucas will move on and you will have Haley. We all win in the end."_

Now, Brooke was not quite as sure anymore.

Physically exhausted and emotionally drained, Brooke held Cole closer in her arms, planting a kiss on the top of his head as she shut her eyes.

"Luke is going to find out about you very soon, _Cole-a-bear_. He probably already does." She whispered in the darkness. _And he's going to hate me for keeping you away from him. He's going to hate me for what's happening to Haley. _"But he will love you…because Luke is a good man." _And he will always be your father even if he hurt me. _"And Haley will love Ben." _Even if Nathan lied to her about him._

Brooke hoped she wasn't wrong.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I know, I'm evil for making Lucas believe Brooke played them and Nathan went along with it. All will be well. So, yeah, Nathan didn't tell Haley about Cole.

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